Naruto: Uchiha no Densetsu

Chapter 19: His Sun

On seeing Hinata's expression and her brisk walk towards them, Kakashi stood up from the ground to stand beside Naruto. He had decided against waking the blonde, so he could see his friends' reaction. After all, it had been almost five years since Naruto had met anyone from his class. Kakashi was sure everyone would be glad upon seeing him again

"Hinata? What's wrong?" asked Sakura as she saw her move towards their sensei quickly. Following after her, even Sakura quickened her pace but stopped abruptly beside her with a look of disbelief etched on her face. Sasuke, however, walked at a relaxed pace not concerning himself with his teammate's antics. But his interest had slightly piqued on noticing the still form of Sakura and Hinata.

"NARUTO?" yelled Sakura in surprise. Kakashi had to almost cover his ears at the loudness of her voice but did not voice his thoughts. Naruto shot his eyes open on hearing the familiar voice and immediately got up from the ground. A silly look appeared on his face and he scratched the back of his head as he realized he had dozed off. It wasn't his fault, it wasn't even seven in the morning yet. As he looked around, his eyes widened slightly on seeing Sakura and her. How long had it been he wondered. He took a step towards them but stopped when he heard Sakura speak again.

"Is that really you, Naruto?" this time Sakura asked quietly, unable to believe her eyes.

"Hai, it's me, Sakura…" He replied with a small smile. Sakura blushed a little on seeing how much Naruto had changed. His body had become completely lean and she could clearly see his defined muscles across his chest and arms. Naruto had lost most of his 'baby fat' and looked physically strong. He had also grown to a height of five feet and seven inches. He wore a black high collared long sleeve shirt with the Uchiha Clan crest at back, black pants with bandages wrapped around his ankles, standard shinobi sandals, black gloves over his hands and a jounin flack jacket. He had also let his hair grow over the years and it was now waist-length with shoulder length bangs framing the sides of his face and covering most of his right eye.

She suddenly came out of her daze when she saw the blonde wave in front of her face. "Eh, Sakura? You good? You dozed off for a few seconds." Naruto said with a chuckle. She jokingly slapped him across the shoulder all the while sporting a huge smile on her face. Today was one of the best days of her life up till now.

"So, are you jounin now?" Sasuke asked casually. He wasn't all that surprised to see the blonde. Naruto had been spending quite a lot of time back at home now the past few weeks although Sasuke wasn't aware of anything else.

"Yeah, I left the Anbu a few weeks ago. I'm now an official jounin of Konohagakure. And, I will also be a part of team seven from now on… I didn't really want to lead a genin team and Hokage-sama thought this would be the best course of action." Naruto replied calmly. He was glad that Sasuke seemed to be a lot calmer than before and more powerful too, judging by how strong his chakra seemed.

Lastly, he glanced towards Hinata who had remained quiet up to this point. He hesitated to move towards her, not really sure how she would react. He hadn't really parted with her on good terms. He felt saddened on seeing her moist eyes. He certainly did not deserve those tears from someone like her. Everyone kept their eyes on the blonde as he slowly moved towards Hinata. She averted her gaze as he now stood before her. There were so many emotions coursing through her heart and she felt conflicted on what to say to him. Would their relation be the same after so much time? Would they be able to talk to each other normally? What if he did not care about her anymore? She shut her eyes as such questions kept recurring in her mind. Unknown to her, similar waves of questions were also flowing through Naruto's minds.

Her heart raced faster, as she felt him place his palm on her cheek. "I'm such a jerk, aren't I?" Naruto whispered. Tears flowed down her face as she felt the warmth of his touch. She had forgotten how much she missed it. Without any further thoughts, she hugged him tightly and held him, afraid that this was all a dream. Afraid that she may wake up any second in her room, to find him disappear from her sights. Kakashi and Sakura smiled at the scene before their eyes. Both knew how much Naruto and Hinata had missed each other.

"I missed you, Hinata-chan… and I'm really sorry for how I left things." Naruto said quietly as he too placed her arms across her back and held her close. Naruto's body was imbued with a wave of euphoria on having her so close to him yet saddened by the emotions he was sensing from Hinata. A few minutes passed and the two stayed in each other's embrace, enjoying the feeling. Naruto then placed his hands on her shoulders and pushed her a little back, so he could stare into those beautiful eyes of hers.

"Hinata…?" asked Naruto. She still hadn't uttered a single word. He was surprised when she suddenly slapped him across his face and it was then that he could see the sadness in her eyes. And he hated himself for it.

"You idiot! Why would you just leave like that? Why didn't you tell me?" Hinata yelled, regaining a bit of composure. He lowered his gaze, knowing fully well that he deserved it.

"I… I was afraid. I was afraid that I wouldn't be able to go through with my decision had I told you beforehand." Replied Naruto, still unable to meet her gaze. She hit him on his arms and pushed him by his chest as all the hurt and frustration suddenly came rushing in to her mind. Naruto simply kept quiet and took it all. He knew, his decision in the past may appear to be cruel to most but Naruto was also aware that because of it, Hinata had grown strong, both mentally and physically. The next second, he was greatly surprised when he felt her hug him again.

"Promise me that you'll never do such a thing again? I don't care how strong you've become, I will kill you myself if you ever hurt me like that again!" Hinata whispered in between her sobs. Naruto gently placed his hand on her head and caressed her hair as a small smile appeared on his face.

"That's a promise. And you know, I never go back on my word." Naruto chuckled softly.

"I still hate you!" retorted Hinata. "I know… I know…" Naruto replied as he understood the underlying meaning of her words.

"Ugh, how long are they going to stay like that?" Sasuke commented as he was smacked behind his head, courtesy of Sakura. "Would you just relax a little? Give them some time!" Sakura scolded him. Sasuke glared at her for a second before turning his head away with a scoff.

Sakura was extremely glad on seeing Naruto and Hinata together after so long. She'd be lying if she still didn't care about the blond, but she knew those two had something special. And she wasn't going to get in the middle of it. Still standing under the tree, a perverse chuckle left Kakashi's lips as he wondered if he should recall this event to Jiraiya. It had been quite some time since any books were published by the Toad Sage and the man would definitely want to have a new source of information.

About ten minutes later once Naruto and Hinata had spoken to each other for a bit, the newly graduated genins now stood in front of Kakashi, while Naruto stood beside the jounin sensei with his arms folded across his chest.

"Hmm… well, that was certainly interesting." Kakashi spoke out loud, unable to control a small laugh. However, he stopped when he felt both Naruto's and Hinata's glare at him.

"Anyway, my name is Kakashi Hatake and I'll be the jounin sensei of team seven. And Naruto here, while not a sensei, will also be part of this team. He will not be acting as a sensei per say, but he'll help out with team training and our missions too." Kakashi stated, turning a little serious. "Now, our first meeting would have gone a lot differently had you guys graduated like the other batches of genins. All of you were divided into teams two years ago and are familiar with each other. But, before we start taking missions as a team, I do want to test out each of your strengths. Any questions?"

Sakura opened her mouth to say something, but hesitated. Sasuke glanced towards the girl and knew exactly what she wanted to ask. He'd be lying if he didn't ponder about it earlier too. Practically everyone in the village talked about it.

"Did you really defeat the Tsuchikage and kill over a hundred shinobi from Iwagakure two years ago?" Sasuke questioned bluntly, turning his gaze towards the young jounin. A little surprised by the question, but Naruto wasn't really bothered by it. He may have felt a tad bit of grief for a short time earlier but also realized his actions had most likely stopped the Tsuchikage from casually advancing towards Konoha. But, even after all this time, he couldn't find it in himself to forgive the Tsuchikage completely for Mikasa's death or destroying Takigakure.

"That's correct, Sasuke. I did what any Konoha shinobi would do. I have sworn to protect Konoha against all enemies, I'll take whatever measures necessary to see that the village survives. It doesn't matter if there are a hundred or a thousand shinobi standing before me. I'll kill them all if it means protecting the village." Naruto replied in an unwavering voice. Hinata and Sakura were a little unnerved on hearing this. They knew Naruto had always been different and wasn't entirely against killing people, especially the enemies, but he did have a warm and forgiving look. Yet, looking into his eyes now, they appeared to be completely devoid of any mercy or emotion. Sasuke nodded on hearing the answer. He expected such a reply from Naruto. He still hadn't forgotten that night where Naruto had told him to use his hatred against the village's enemy, to hate Danzo until he became strong enough to kill the man responsible for the Uchiha's massacre.

Deciding to break the ice, Kakashi cleared his throat to gain the genins' attention. He took out two bells from his pouch strapped to his left leg and showed it to the people. Naruto chuckled, knowing exactly what his former sensei was going to do. 'Oh, this ought to be fun to watch…' thought an amused Naruto.

"The three of you…" Kakashi said pointing towards Sasuke, Hinata and Sakura. "… will be fighting against me. Your objective will be to take these two bells from me. You can use any of the shinobi arts in this battle. The fight ends the moment one of you manages to take this from me. Now, remember, you all better come at me with the intention to kill. Show me how much you all have grown as shinobi." Kakashi stated. He jumped to the middle of the clearing to give himself more room. The three genins stood in their places for a few seconds when they heard Kakashi's voice. "Well, don't wait for me to say start." he said with a dumb look on his face.

"What about him?" Sasuke asked, pointing towards the blonde.

"Oh, I won't be doing anything. I will just observe, I suppose." Naruto said, as he jumped up and sat on one of the tree branches to have a better view. Hinata, Sakura and Sasuke immediately disappeared into the woods surrounding the training ground to come up with an effective approach for their objective.

A little over ten minutes had passed and it was Sasuke who showed himself before Kakashi. "Oh? Your teammates won't be joining you?" asked Kakashi, without even lifting his gaze from the book he had taken out.

"You don't need to worry about them." Sasuke replied. His eyes soon turned red as he ran towards Kakashi at an impressive speed. As soon as Sasuke reached Kakashi within an arm's length, he took out his katana with his right hand and went for a backhand slash, aiming for Kakashi's torso. Kakashi easily side stepped the attempt and went for a kick to Sasuke's ribs. Having predicted the move, Sasuke swiftly ducked down and this time, aimed his katan towards Kakashi's sternum. With quick reflexes, Kakashi back flipped and threw several shuriken towards Sasuke, who deflected all the shurikens with ease. Not giving Kakashi any time to make the next move, Sasuke launched himself towards his sensei as he coated his katana with raiton chakra. Kakashi's eyes widened slightly as he quickly took out a kunai, also coating it with raiton chakra and blocked Sasuke's sword.

"There's no need to be surprised. Raiton manipulation is one of my expertise." Kakashi stated on seeing the momentary shock on Sasuke's face. However, Sasuke simply smirked and immediately jumped back startling his sensei for a second.

"Raiton: Raikou Kousen no jutsu" Kakashi heard Hinata's voice from behind as a beam of high voltage electricity came towards him. Before the jutsu could reach him, Kakashi jumped up in the air, but the very next second his ears picked up Sasuke's voice as he quickly turned towards him.

"Katon: Goukakyuu no jutsu" Sasuke said, blowing a large ball of fire towards Kakashi, who was still in midair. Seeing the danger, he was in, Kakashi promptly substituted himself with a log of wood and landed a little further away from the clearing in the middle.

'These guys aren't half bad. They have certainly improved more than I expected… now where could Sakura be?' Kakashi wondered as he looked around. Unknown to the silver-haired jounin, Sakura stood about twenty feet to his west and had a clear view of him. Making a few hand seals, she casted a genjutsu around the area that would prevent Kakashi from seeing her. Once done, she quietly made her way towards her sensei and jumped to the tree branch behind him. As her hand reached out to grab the bells from him, Kakashi suddenly turned around and before Sakura could react, he kicked her on her left arm. Sakura was barely able to block the kick but still found herself being thrown away due to the strength behind it. Quickly turning her body midair, she used a tree behind her as a support and jumped to the clearing in the middle.

Hinata and Sasuke raced towards the pink haired girl, who was now sporting a light bruise on her left arm. "Did it work?" Hinata questioned.

"No, I don't know how he was able to get out of the genjutsu so easily. I was sure he'd be distracted for a few minutes at least. I suppose, he's a lot stronger than he looks." Sakura replied, as she felt a little sore on her arm.

"Of course, something like that wouldn't work on him…" they all heard Naruto's voice and turned to their right. "What do you mean?" Sasuke asked with a raised eye brow. "What I mean is that, Kakashi is one of the strongest jounins in the village. There are only a handful of people in the village who could defeat him in a one on one fight to the death. So, I'd just say you'll have to try harder." Naruto chuckled. The three genins were obviously startled on hearing that fact. But, before they could do anything further, Kakashi once again landed in the middle of the clearing with a bored look on his face.

"That was certainly good. Distracting me with taijutsu and kenjutsu first and then following it up with ninjutsu and genjutsu. It was a certainly good tactic." Kakashi said with a thumbs up. But Sasuke, Hinata and Sakura could clearly sense the sarcasm behind his words. Sasuke inwardly cursed himself for not even making Kakashi take them seriously. He immediately covered his hand in raiton chakra and rushed towards him. Kakashi simply stood his ground and stared at the Uchiha coming towards him with his lone eye. 'He never learns…' he thought with a sigh.

As Sasuke neared him, he thrusted his arm towards the jounin but Kakashi casually caught his wrist and directed the hand away from him. However, he was surprised, when Sasuke immediately jumped down and swept his legs causing him to fall on the ground. Sasuke then held his hands, to stop him from performing any hand seals. Sakura and Hinata then quickly performed a few hand sealsto execute their jutsu while Sasuke still held him in place. Meanwhile, Kakashi played along with them wanting to see what else the three were capable of. He could very well get out of Sasuke's grip but seeing the three genins work together so well, made him to want to take things slightly easy.

"Suiton: Suigadan" Sakura saidmaking the water from a nearby lake to rise which took the form of a spinning drill that proceeded towards Kakashi. A split second before the jutsu could reach, Sasuke immediately jumped out of the way. The suiton jutsu then proceeded to hit Kakashi, who was swept back a few feet.

"Raiton: Jibarashi" Hinata called out as she placed her hands on the ground. Utilizing the water that covered the area, Hinata unleashed an electric current that travelled through the water towards Kakashi, shocking him greatly. Kakashi abruptly fell on his knees as his body acted up in pain. Hinata, Sasuke and Sakura then jumped in front of Kakashi who was still on his knees with victorious smirks on their faces.

"I guess… I should congratulate you all…" said Kakashi tiredly in between breaths. Sasuke then moved towards the downed jounin to get the bells, completely oblivious to the smirk hidden under Kakashi's facemask. Before the three genins could even move a muscle any further, the Kakashi before them dispersed into a current of electricity that shocked all three of them. A few seconds later, the three then fell on the ground, groaning in pain. Moments later, they all heard the sound of clapping and turned towards the direction of the sound.

"Looks like you overdid it a little, sensei…" Naruto said with a laugh. Kakashi nodded, but he was extremely impressed with the all three of them. He was certain team seven would go on to make an excellent team in the future. About ten minutes later, the three genins finally got up from the ground with slightly saddened mood.

"When did you make that clone?" Hinata asked keenly. She was surprised that even with the three of them working together weren't able to scratch him much less get the bells from him.

"I surely thought we'd able to get the bells from you, sensei…" Sakura said as she lowered her gaze down. Sasuke kept quiet, surprised that even years of training, he wasn't able to amount to much. He felt angry at himself but most importantly cursed his own weakness. He wondered where he could have gone wrong. Why wasn't he at least able to put up a decent fight. All three of them brought out of their internal conflicts when they heard Kakashi's voice, which sounded rather happy.

"To answer your question Hinata, I switched myself with the clone just before Sakura's jutsu was about to hit me. But more importantly, you guys performed splendidly. I am thoroughly surprised with how much the three of you have improved…" Kakashi stated with an eye smile.

"But we weren't able to get the bell, Kakashi-sensei." Sakura spoke.

"You were never going to get the bell first of all. If you recall, I did say I was just going to test everyone's strengths and weaknesses. I'm an experienced jounin while the three of you are fresh genins. Although, I'm pretty sure all three of you will be able to handle yourself against most of the chunins for that matter." Kakashi said in an effort to lift up their moods. That certainly made Hinata and Sakura feel a lot better. While Sasuke was content with Kakashi's remarks, he glanced towards Naruto and wondered just how strong he really was. He had heard about his exploits but hearing the news from a third person's view was never the same.

"Well, since that's cleared up, we can come up with a training schedule for the three of you and discuss how each person performed. From there on, you all can work on your weaknesses to improve upon them." Kakashi said. He proceeded to make three clones of himself and each clone took a genin to a different part of the woods surrounding the training ground.

Two weeks later

It was a bright, sunny morning in Konoha and team seven had finally received a day off from training, much to their relief. Unlike the academy, training under Kakashi had turned out to be a constant struggle and by the end of each day they would either limp back home or pass out in the training ground from exhaustion. One of the key concepts that Kakashi had emphasized to them was efficiency and teamwork. To be able to complete an objective with a clear mind, in the given amount of time and to be able to look a mission objectively rather than emotionally. Sasuke, Hinata and Sakura were pleasantly surprised at the vast difference in the teaching methods of Kakashi compared to the academy teachers. While true that most of the current jounin sensei also taught at the academy for a short period, but during that time, they only grazed the tip of the field the students wanted to specialize in.

Since Sakura had shown signs of excellent chakra control since a young age, she had opted to go for the medical field later on, in her shinobi career. Ever since she could remember, she had idolized Tsunade Senju who was regarded as the greatest medical practitioner and the strongest kunoichi in the shinobi world. In the academy, she was taught the most basics of medical ninjutsu along with slightly advanced chakra control exercises than the rest of the students. With Kakashi, she was trained to improve upon her stamina, chakra reserves and advanced chakra control exercises. Since she had suiton and doton nature affinities, one of the chakra control exercises she was currently working on was to separate different grains of sand within a small puddle, without disturbing the flow of water.

Being a kunoichi from the Hyuga Clan, Hinata had an innate sense of chakra control. While almost as good as Sakura's, she wasn't much interested in the medical field. Her interest lied in mid to close range battles. At the young age of fourteen, Hinata was considered among the best taijutsu users of the Hyuga Clan. Even though, her taijutsu style- gentle fist, was extremely efficient in conjugation with her byakugan, Kakashi had noticed some of her movements to be stiff, especially when turning her body. She mainly worked on her fluidity of movements, improving the range of her byakugan and also working on her ninjutsu. The Hyuga Clan prided themselves in their taijutsu and considered themselves to be a cut above the others and thus it was very rare to see a Hyuga use ninjutsu. So, Kakashi was caught a little off guard to see her work on ninjutsu.

However, when it came to Sasuke, Kakashi devoted, a good amount of time behind him. Like him, Kakashi too had lost almost everyone he cared about at a young age and could see a reflection of himself within Sasuke. Since he also had the sharingan, he felt a tad bit more comfortable in teaching Sasuke than Hinata and Sakura. Although, it's not to say that he didn't tend to their needs. Under Kakashi's guidance, Sasuke worked on his sharingan and further improving his stamina and speed. In his early years in the Anbu, since Kakashi used to wield a chokuto, he was also able to help Sasuke with kenjutsu in regard to improving his stance and swiftness of his strikes. Similar to the blonde Uchiha, Kakashi had noticed that Sasuke too could be considered a prodigy. The immense potential that the child had was simply terrifying. That alone made him wonder whether everyone within the Uchiha Clan was born with innate talents in the shinobi arts.

"Why do you make me work so hard with them…? It's honestly tiring." Kakashi said quite tiredly.

"Eh, it's good for you, sensei. If I didn't force you to teach them properly, you probably would have left them to fend for themselves." Naruto replied with an equally tired face. The two were just getting out of the Hokage's Building after finishing up on some paperwork for the chunin exams in a few months. It had been a while since any of them had to deal with any sort of paperwork and one could say how irked they were by the looks on their faces.

"Well, you turned out to be good, didn't you? And, I mean you could help out at times too instead of just lying around at the training ground." Replied Kakashi as he yawned. 'I know why Minato-sensei hates paperwork so much. It truly is a bane of existence.'

"Maybe, I was just an exception. Moreover, someone needs to keep an eye on you. You're like the laziest person I know of. You could probably even compete with the Nara Clan in that regard." Naruto stated with a smirk and had to control himself from outright laughing. Kakashi's eye twitched at that remark but he didn't have the energy to neither yell nor hit the blonde.

"Smartass…" Kakashi muttered under his breath. Naruto chuckled at Kakashi's expression and decided not to probe the man any further. "Well, anyway, I think I'm going to go and get some rest. Being a jounin is hard. I wish I was still in Anbu. I would take going on risky missions any time over this damn paperwork." Scoffed Naruto. Kakashi then took out his small book from his pouch as he waved goodbye to Naruto who took to the rooftops. Kakashi walked aimlessly for a few minutes through the market district when he heard a voice that sent chills down his spine.

"Kakashi! Why so tired? We both are still in the springtime of our youth! I shall challenge you to a fight to brighten your youthful fire!" yelled a man clad in green spandex. 'Why did it have to be him now?' Kakashi cried inwardly.

Naruto quickly raced through the rooftops and made his way to the south of the Hokage Monument, outside the Hyuga Clan's Main House Compound. He smiled when he found Hinata to be waiting there. Even to this day, he was always found himself mesmerized upon looking at her. And he would be lying to himself if he didn't think that Hinata had grown to be quite hot over the years. That thought alone made him blush a little, but he kept himself composed. 'No silly thoughts… stupid Naruto.' He repeated in his mind.

Jumping off the branch of a tree, he landed before Hinata. Once again, he found himself staring at her for a few seconds before he realized that she was looking at him with a mischievous smirk.

"Like what you see, Naruto-kun?" she said with a wink. Since, it was her day off, Hinata was wearing knee-length violet skirt and a simple white colored top with a V-neck. Naruto was slightly taken aback with her attitude and shook his head to rid himself of any dirty thoughts.

"Uh… uhm… I guess…?" Naruto replied hesitantly as he tilted his head to the side slightly. Hinata giggled on seeing Naruto's reactions. It made her smile inwardly that she could bring out such a reaction from him. "So, why did you want to meet now? I'm quite tired, you know…" Naruto said.

"Well, it doesn't matter. You were gone for so many years without ever telling me anything. And today's the first time we got any free time after you came… So, today you'll be spending the day with me!" Hinata replied cheerfully.

"Hey, come on. I'm really tired you know. And how many times do I have to apologize?" Naruto whined. He even pointed towards his eyes so Hinata could see the dark circles under them to prove that he needed his sleep. "It doesn't matter. Those five years are not going to come back. And you have to make up for it by doing what I say." Hinata firmly replied. Naruto sighed with a defeated look on his face and just nodded. There was no point in arguing with her. He had forgotten how stubborn she could get at times.

"So, where do you want to go?" Naruto asked her as they began walking away from the Hyuga Compound. "Hmm… let's see." Hinata hummed in thought as she glanced towards his tired face.

"Let's go and sit on the Hokage Monument. It's your favorite place isn't it?" she asked. A large smile appeared on Naruto's face as he nodded. He immediately placed his arm around her waist, surprising her and used shunshin no jutsu to teleport on top of the Hokage's Monument.

The next second Hinata opened her eyes, she found herself standing atop the stone faces of the Hokages. She tucked her hair behind her ears gently, as the she felt the wind blow past her. Naruto and Hinata walked to the edge of the hill and sat down next to each other with their feet hanging from the cliff. To a civilian, the edge of the cliff would seem to be a daunting place to sit because of the height. But, Naruto and Hinata were trained shinobi and they simply admired the view before their eyes. The two became quiet for a few minutes as they enjoyed each other's silent company. Hinata continued staring down at the village while Naruto kept stealing glances at her. He couldn't really tell why, but he felt a little nervous. His heart raced a little, when he felt Hinata's hand move atop his own, beside him. And for some reason, it also made him feel calmer.

"I was really mad at you when you left…" Hinata whispered but Naruto clearly heard her as he quickly turned towards her. He opened his mouth to speak but stopped when he saw Hinata's expression.

"You suddenly disappeared after that night and I was so worried and scared about you. I had so many questions. I even tried asking tou-sama, Hokage-sama and Mikoto-sama, but no one gave me any answers." Hinata continued as she stared into the empty space below her feet. With every passing second, Naruto hated himself even more. He wanted his friends to become stronger in his absence, to be able to rely on their own powers to protect the village. But he'd forgotten to account their feelings into his decision.

"I… I'm sorry, Hinata-chan. I wasn't thinking clearly at that point. But I only wanted the best for everyone." Naruto said with a heavy heart. He lowered his gaze to his palms and wondered if he had ever done anything right in his life. His life had begun as a tragedy and it had followed him all his life up to this point. Hinata placed a comforting hand on his cheek as he felt his distress. It's true that she had been devasted when he decided to leave, but right now, maybe she understood his reasons a little.

"You always try doing everything on your own, Naruto-kun. I want you to know that you're not alone in this world. You have friends you can rely on. We may not be as strong as you are, but we want to support you. We may not have suffered as much pain as you have, but we all want to share your burden…" Hinata whispered softly. Tears formed in Naruto's eyes and slowly fell on his blood-stained hands as he couldn't believe what he was hearing. Ever since the day he had learned of his destined prophecy from Kurama, he believed all the responsibility to be on his shoulders. He himself had clouded his mind and heart with pain that he could have shared with his friends. Hinata gently placed guided Naruto to rest his face on her lap as he grazed her fingers through his long blonde hair.

"I have killed so many people… I have taken… hundreds of innocent lives. I don't think I can forgive myself…" Naruto sobbed and let it all out. For so many years, he had kept his heart a closed fortress, keeping all the pain locked up in there.

"Shhh… it's okay. Remember when we were kids and I told you that I want to understand you better?" Hinata asked as she stared at the vast village before her eyes. She continued stroking his hair gently, knowing that Naruto was enjoying her touch. Naruto meekly nodded. He hadn't forgotten a single memory he had spent with her before joining the Anbu.

"Earlier, whenever I believed that I understood you a little, you presented me with another mystery in your life and it always scared me a little though I never showed it. But, both of us have grown a lot since that time. Right at this moment, I believe you're still lost in your own pain. Everyone has suffered some sort of pain in their life, Naruto-kun and everyone has a bit of darkness in them. I can't say I understand your pain completely now, but I'll ask you again. Let me try to understand you, Naruto-kun. You don't ever have to walk your path alone. I want to stand by your side and hold you hand…" Hinata said soothingly.

"I… I'm afraid of myself, Hinata-chan. I'm afraid of my own powers. I'm afraid that once I get consumed by the darkness in myself, I wo… won't be able to redeem myself." Naruto murmured tiredly. He closed his eyes momentarily, soaking himself in the warmth he was feeling from her.

"Then, I'll always be there by your side, pull you away from it. I promise." As he laid his head on her lap, he realized Hinata to be the key to his fortress. Being close to her made him feel as if, all his painful memories were being slowly burnt away by the bright rays of the sun.

She was his sun and he lo…

"I love you, Hinata…" Naruto whispered as he soon dozed off into a blissful sleep. Hinata suddenly froze for a few seconds as she heard those words. Yet, again she found herself shaking lightly. How long had she yearned to hear those words from him… how long had she yearned to tell those words to him. She couldn't remember but she smiled knowing that it didn't really matter anymore. She lowered herself and kissed him on his forehead and whispered into ears softly, "I love you too, Naruto-kun."

A couple of hours had passed and the two were still sitting by the edge of the Hokage Monument. Naruto stirred in his sleep and slowly opened his eyes to find himself sleeping on Hinata's lap. He suddenly got up and looked around himself worriedly. 'Was it all a dream?' he thought. He looked towards Hinata and staring into her warm eyes, he had found his answer. His eyes suddenly widened as he remembered everything he had said earlier and everything she had said.

"Did you sleep well?" Hinata asked as she moved a little closer to him. She was surprised when Naruto immediately engulfed her in a tight hug. She simply smiled and hugged him back with an equal vigor.

"That was the best sleep I've ever had, Hinata-chan…" Naruto broke the hug and now looked straight in her white eyes. "And thank you… thank you for still believing in me." Naruto said. Hinata giggled lightly much to Naruto's confusion but the next second, Hinata inched forward and poked Naruto on his forehead. Naruto stared at her a few moments and laughed freely. The kind of innocent laugh a baby has when he gets his hands on his favorite toy. Hinata was yet again mesmerized by Naruto. He looked so free and relieved now and she wanted to protect this smile of his, forever.

A few minutes later, when Naruto calmed down, he placed his hand on his stomach and realized he hadn't eaten anything last night. "Do you want to go grab a bite?" Naruto asked.

"So, is it a date?" Hinata questioned with a small smirk. "Hmm… I don't know about that…" Naruto put his hand under his chin and pretended to ponder over it for a few seconds that made Hinata slightly frown.

"Hey, I was just kidding! Come on, now." Naruto said frantically.

Author Notes: Finally, the two have confessed their feelings for each other and this relationship will also provide Naruto a stage to mature mentally. After he let out everything in front of Hinata, Naruto feels a huge weight lifted of his shoulder and now maybe, he'll start to perceive things differently and take a different approach towards his decisions than he normally does. I will most likely introduce the other genins in the next chapter, where they'll meet Naruto and talk to him about his experience, although, obviously there will be very little that Naruto will actually reveal to them. In the future, I do see Shikamaru and Naruto becoming close friends because of their practical views of the shinobi world. Although that is still quite a few chapters away.

What Naruto meant when he said 'I'm afraid of my own powers' will be explained within the next two chapters. Most likely when team seven go on their first A Rank mission.

I'm also planning to pair Fu with Shino and Sakura with Sasuke but I won't be going into their relationship in detail. Pairing Shino with Fu is still an option, do let me know your suggestion in the reviews if you wish to. Also, for the chunin exams, I'm planning to involve Sunagakure, Otogakure and Kumogakure instead of Kirigakure. I have different plans to introduce Kiri later on in the story. Once the chunin exam starts, Shisui's role too will become a little more regular in the story. Itachi and Shisui will definitely play an important role during the event of the Chunin Exams Final round.

Please do follow, favorite and review the story! Once again, I appreciate all the reviews that are being posted. It honestly means a lot to me!

Until next time!